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Topic: Please recommend a recipe or three (Read 1658 times)

I would really appreciate some direction for the recipes I should be looking at for the type of cheese I would like to make.

I would like a couple of recipes that won't be a disaster if it is not followed precisely - so a bit of flexibilty in the make is important. I am not concerned if I do not reproduce the cheese exactly and understand that a 'relaxed' approach to cheese making will create variations in each cheese:)

Ultimately I guess I am looking to settle on one or two different types that are suitable as a general purpose cheese for sandwiches, toasted sandwiches, crackers, shredding, melting eg pasta dishes. (Ideally one recipe would be a quicker, less demanding recipe for busy days!) I understand from reading this forum that Caerphilly and Tomme are often recommended, so would like to know if these fit into my prefered 'parameters' specifically final taste (or if they can be altered to suit?).

I live in a rural area and do not have access to purchasing a variety of cheese to see what my family and I like now (its been a few years since we've had anything other than generic 'mild'/semi-matured cheese from the supermarket, but in the past have enjoyed the likes of edam, jarlseburg, gouda, havarti, colby etc - and a lot of others I can't remember the names and specific tastes of).

So these are the parameters that I hope will help lead to suggestions for which recipes I should start looking at.

Will be using raw jersey milk, fresh from my cow that morning (usually 4, 6 or 8 litres - 1, 1.5 or 2 gallons).Will start with commercial cultures made into mother cultures, then would like to try cultures made from my own cultured buttermilk and yogurt.Will not be using a ph meter.Pressed with weights up to 10-15kg (max 20kg)Young: aged for 1, 2 or 3 monthsSmooth, moist creamy texture. Not brittle, dry, crumbly or overly rubbery.Mild flavoured but still tasty and not bland.Mid level salty or sweet (would be keen to try a recipe for each)Not mould, stinky, very sharp flavoured, fruits, herbs etc.Will use wax, oil or brine but not vacuum sealing.Ageing will be low tech, esky/insulated box with iced containers or a dedicated refrigerator (no thermostat at present).

Thanks Tracy. I've made ricotta and a couple of other soft cheeses, purely for practice as no-one in my family eats soft cheese other than myself, and cream cheese is my preference. Even with that, there is a definite limit to how much soft cheese one person can eat a week and an awful lot of milk to deal with hence wanting hard cheese recipes;)

My husband is making me a press, so that is not a problem. I have successfully made two hard cheeses in the last week that I have pressed to 10kg with a cobbled together press...ROFL well when I say successful - I do mean that the curds have knitted together well and the cobbled together press did its job. Although both were experimental, neither are inedible, one is quite flavourful already and both were a lesson in how a cheese develops flavour and texture over a short period of time:)

Gouda I think would fit your bill easily, I made it 3 days a week for a year without a pH meter, the curd wash helps keep the acidity down, only ever had one batch slightly over acidified, but would have corrected itself with a little longer ageing. Jeff Hamm seems to be on a butterkase kick and really enjoys his results, so look him up. How about a monterey jack, it also takes flavorings well.

I also recommend Gouda. In my experience Manchego makes are also simple, uncomplicated, and forgiving. That would give you a firmer cheese that is can be slightly stronger than Gouda. If you want more of a simple cheddar type, I suggest the Ossau-Iraty make from 200 Easy. I just opened a lovely one that I made in January. Creamy, crumbly, good flavor, but relatively mild. (I can send my version of the recipe to you if you like; just send me a pm.) I also use raw Jersey milk and don't have a pH meter.

Thanks smilingcalico and cloversmilker! I actually tried a gouda yesterday...LOL well I got all the steps right, however the timing of everything after cutting the curds, despite my best intentions, was all over the place, so I guess I am going to find out what happens with gouda when the recipe is not followed precisely.

I will have a look at Monterey Jack and Manchego recipes and have pm'd you cloversmilk for the Ossau-Iraty recipe thanks!